Financial aid problems remedied by meeting deadlines

Financial aid is how many students across the nation manage to put themselves through college, but it can often be a difficult and bureaucratic ordeal. It is important for students to apply for their loans and submit their approval on time each year.

However, many procrastinate, and that often leads to long lines for students. It also makes a hefty workload for the financial aid office the first few weeks of every semester, as anyone who has been in AASU's financial aid office in the last few days will testify.

"An inordinate amount of students seem to think that the deadlines are in July and August, so they often submit their financial aid paperwork then, which has been the case this year," financial aid counselor Lee Ann Kirkland said. "85 percent of Armstrong students are on financial aid, and it's a quite disproportionate number of students filing later than they should, and that contributes to things like long waiting periods in the financial aid office and students not getting their books until after classes have started."

The deadline for AASU students to submit their completed FAFSA or Renewal FAFSA is March 5 for the summer semester and March 15 for the fall semester. Additional deadlines include April 5 and April 15 for submitting all supporting documentation needed by the financial aid office for the summer and fall semesters. March 1 is the deadline for AASU scholarship applications for freshmen and transferring students, and May 1 is for returning students. The Aug. 3 deadline is for submitting the completed and signed FAFSA or Renewal FAFSA for the spring semester. Sept. 7 is the deadline for all supporting documentation needed by the financial aid office for the spring semester.

Kirkland also said students can cut down the waiting times in the financial aid office by checking their student e-mail accounts regularly over the course of the summer. "Students haven't been checking their e-mails over the summer, so we've had to be implementing more stringent drops for non-payment," she said. "We've built up a student culture that is lax in monitoring their financial aid over the summer, and we've been pushing to change that."

AASU students have mixed feelings about the congestion in the financial aid office in the weeks leading up to the fall semester. However, many feel that the financial aid office is ultimately rising to the occasion and accommodating students quite well.

"This is actually a lot more organized than the last place I went to school," said junior Jenna Clark.

Other students, such as Shari Mann, believe that students could do a lot to help the financial aid office by being taking responsibility. They could be more pro-active about having their necessary paperwork submitted on time. "If you get FAFSA done in January, they usually know no later than March that I've completed my financial aid verification, so all I really have to do at that point is submit whatever supplementary paperwork the office needs," Mann said.